Jung Ho Kang moves to short for Pirates, Sean Rodriguez to third

Kang has started 40 games at third, including the last 11. He'll start at short for the first time since June 13.

Replacing Kang at third will be Sean Rodriguez, who makes his first start of the year at the hot corner. He's played there five times this year as a defensive replacement.

Pirates place Jordy Mercer on DL, call up Brent Morel

by Shawn Krest | CBSSports.com

(7/20/15) The Pirates placed infielder Jordy Mercer on the 15-day disabled list, with a lower leg contusion and MCL sprain, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Mercer is expect to miss the next six weeks after a collision at second base in Sunday's game.

To replace him, the team recalled corner infielder Brent Morel from Triple-A Indianapolis. He was hitting .266 with nine home runs and 47 RBI at Indianapolis.

To make room on the 40-man roster, the team moved outfielder Corey Hart from the 15-day to 60-day disabled list. Hart was recently shut down while on a minor league rehab assignment, recovering from a shoulder injury.

Pirates SS Jordy Mercer carted off field Sunday

by Sean d'Oliveira | CBSSports.com

(7/19/15) Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer had to be carted off the field after suffering a lower-leg injury during Sunday's contest at Milwaukee, the team announced.

Mercer was hurt when Carlos Gomez slid into his leg. Sean Rodriguez entered the game to play third with Jung Ho Kang moving to shortstop.

2014 summary: With Clint Barmes confined to the bench, Jordy Mercer had the shortstop job all to himself in 2014, but his part-time numbers from 2013 didn't translate completely, keeping him just an afterthought in mixed leagues. Of course, few owners would give him the time of day after his miserable start to the season. He was actually decent over the final four months, batting .278 with a higher OPS (.767) than all but five shortstops had on the year.

Playing time status: Though Mercer initially beat out Barmes because of his bat (not that it took much), he emerged as a plus defender in 2014, which should buy him some favor even if he has another prolonged slump. The Pirates do have Korean standout Jung Ho Kang on the roster, but his defensive limitations may prevent him from playing shortstop on a full-time basis.

2015 outlook: Even with those dreadful first two months, Mercer s till averaged more Head-to-Head points per game last year than J.J. Hardy, Jean Segura, Xander Bogaerts and Andrelton Simmons. Of course, none of those four lived up to expectations, but it's nice to know Mercer is available as a fallback option if your intended shortstop suffers that same fate this year. And he should, in fact, be available after the draft ends, at least in mixed leagues.
(Updated 12/16/14)